Moriah Farms

Hope Ward is a soft-spoken, knowledgeable farmer who tends her herd of Alpine dairy goats. These beautiful farm animals produce the milk from which she makes and sells handmade natural soap.

The 45-acre Moriah Farms, located at 400 Moriah School Road in Casar, NC, reminds her of her home in Asheville as she was growing up. But Asheville has grown so much, she was looking for acreage and privacy when she and husband, George found Moriah Farms on the internet more than three years ago.

Hope says, “I had grown up on a farm. I worked as a landscape designer, worked as a certified plant professional in garden centers and also worked as a buyer for garden centers in the Asheville-Weaverville area.”

She and her husband George love the quiet serenity of Moriah Farms. Most of the acreage is cultivated to grow hay for the goats.

Hope sells her soap at the Farmer’s Market in Shelby and in winter it is sold through Baskets by Phyllis at 585 W. Grover Street in Shelby. George makes wooden soap dishes to hold the soap and they are designed to let it drain. The soap and dishes may be purchased by calling Hope at 704 538-7960. You may also follow Moriah Farms on Facebook.

Hope says, “My customers like the way the soap makes their skin feel. Many use it for shampooing their hair too. A few customers have skin problems and often the product takes the redness out of their skin. The olive oil and coconut oil make it good for the skin.”

Hope makes 20 bars of soap at a time using wooden molds. It must set for several hours before the cutting process. To become firm the soap must then cure for 2-3 weeks. She uses herbs from her garden to give both color and fragrance to the soap.

Hope is currently in a learning process about cheese making. She is hopeful that she will be licensed to sell cheese by the summer of 2012.

Hope says, “Before I owned goats, I sought out goat milk to help solve an ulcer problem. Now both George and I enjoy drinking the goat milk. The barn cats enjoy it too; they line up to get some!”